Darkness Rising (2017)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Tara Holt, Katrina Law, Bryce Johnson
Directed by Austin Reading
Childhood trauma comes back to rear its ugly head in director Austin Reading’s latest film, Darkness Rising, and we’re all reaping the benefits…of some much needed sleep as a result of it. Feel free to grab your favorite blankie, and slip into your most comfortable jammies, cause this one could seriously cause Mr. Sandman to waffle you over the head with a vicious right hand.
The idea of intently wanting to visit the childhood home where your own mother killed your little sister, then came gunning for you is a perplexing one for sure, and for fully-grown Madison (Law), all of this time (we’re talking decades here) has passed, her curiosity has never wavered. So, she gathers up her fiance (Johnson) and cousin (Holt), and all three make their way back to the house of horrors to visit before it becomes fodder for the wrecking ball – personally, I’d have waited for the demolition to conclude, but these are those intently intelligent nuggets of wisdom that occur with characters in horror films. As fate would have it (our fate, more than likely), the usual haunted house undertakings begin to commence in rather lackluster fashion – noises, moving shadows…you get the rest, I’m sure. Even a journey into the possession realm is rendered somewhat ineffective in both a visual and storytelling status.
As you watch this film, any horror fan worth their salt will be able to pick off similarities to other great movies of the past, and for this particular construction, it simply doesn’t work. Whether it was the stagnant dialogue, lifeless plot or scares that just don’t scare, this entire production from top to bottom was one colossal wasted opportunity, as even a cameo from Mr. Ted Raimi himself couldn’t manage to lift this sunken safe from the bottom of the ocean – better luck next time, Mr. Reading. Overall, I’d recommend Darkness Rising solely to fans of watered-down haunted house flicks, but only if damn near every other watered-down haunted house flick was unavailable to be viewed at that specific time – take a pass.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
